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Mountains & Valleys

MOUNTAIN – This mountain is for “The Mountain,” as they call it in Tupper Lake: Big Tupper Ski Area and the Adirondack Club and Resort, the development on and around it that’s slated to add up to 650 housing units, an inn, a restaurant, a equestrian center and a marina. State courts has finally gotten rid of a lawsuit that’s obstructed the project since March 2012, and now developers say they hope to start construction by the end of the summer. It’s been a long time coming. Tupper Lake needs this chance.

MOUNTAIN – to National Sports Academy in Lake Placid meeting its fundraising goal and committing to stay open at least through the spring semester. We’re happy students won’t be cut off halfway through the academic year. Beyond that, it will definitely be tough for this school that’s produced 23 Winter Olympians. With only 19 students and one team remaining, it looks like a long shot, but we wish it well nevertheless. We’d love to be able to tell a come-from-behind victory story about it in the coming years.

MOUNTAIN – to New York banning hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas. Yes, we know that kills some economic development potential for parts of upstate (not the Adirondacks), and yes, it was off-putting to see a governor who takes credit for everything pin this decision on the state’s commissioners of health and environmental conservation. Nevertheless, we think it was the right decision. We believe that in the long run, clean water is a more valuable resource than natural gas, and it must be protected from contamination by fracking. Adirondackers understand the value of water, economic and otherwise.

VALLEY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced three new casinos in New York state, a big part of his plan to “fix” the upstate economy. Yes, the casinos will hire plenty of people, but we don’t see them as a key to prosperity – rather to increased gambling addiction, seediness and eventual collapse, as Atlantic City, New Jersey is now dealing with. We also see this as political pay-to-play: Casino developers donated richly to the governor’s campaign war chest, and this is their reward.

MOUNTAIN – At least there will be no new casinos up here in the North Country. Thank you, Akwesasne Mohawks, for making that a critical part of your deal with Gov. Cuomo. If we have to have a casino, we’d rather have theirs.

MOUNTAIN – We send our best wishes to Bruce Nason, who is retiring as Saranac Lake’s chief of police and moving to Vermont with his wife and their son. He’s always been accessible to community members and highly visible, frequently doing foot patrol and attending local events. We’ve built up a good, trusting relationship with him over the years, and we’ll miss him. We think he’s done an excellent job.

MOUNTAIN – We also wish our best to Nason’s interim successor, Charles Potthast. He seems to be highly competent and amicable. We also hope everyone involved in hiring a new chief long-term – applicants, administrators, village board members and other police officers – will approach the process with wisdom and goodwill. We’ve seen these things cause bitterness, and we hope that is avoided in this case.

Mountains & Valleys

MOUNTAIN – Tupper Lake has some big plans, and therefore some big fundraisers. To help the community volunteer-run Big Tupper Ski Area stay open, the Snow Ball gala is Dec. 13. To launch an ambitious new winter festival called Fire and Ice, planned for February, there will be a baked ziti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Moose Club. We encourage people to go to these fun events to support even more fun at Big Tupper and Fire and Ice.

VALLEY – The cost of prescription drugs can bankrupt a family, so it is no wonder people would like to find a better deal. The Enterprise received an ad that offers 80 percent off prescription drugs that are sold by mail in Canada. Unfortunately, we had to reject it. Many American seniors in the late 1990s were taking organized bus trips across the border to purchase more affordable medication from a Canadian pharmacy; then a law was enacted making it illegal to buy prescription drugs from another country. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration claimed it was for safety reasons, when we believe it is just to protect big business. Just look at the money spent on the constant barrage of TV ads from prescription drug companies. Even the cost of “new and improved” forms of existing common drugs increased 400 percent, according to news sources. How can this happen, and why can’t we shop around for the best price? Why didn’t the Affordable Care Act fix this to reduce the cost of health care overall? It’s something to ask our political representatives to solve.

MOUNTAIN – Please donate to charitable holiday drives like Holiday Helpers in Saranac Lake, the North Elba Christmas Fund in Lake Placid, Castles of Toys in Tupper Lake, Salvation Army kettle drives and Stewart’s Holiday Match. (For any others we may have accidentally left out, we’re sorry.) Other groups can piggyback on these efforts the way emergency personnel recently teamed up with Holiday Helpers for a toy drive at the Saranac Lake firehouse. We’re glad these first responders got such a great response.

MOUNTAIN – We’re glad Saranac Lake Mayor Clyde Rabideau is stepping up and proposing a meaningful, practical and cost-conscious way to help his village’s shops become more accessible to people in scooters or wheelchairs. He’s proposed that the village set aside a $25,000 Access for Everyone Grant Fund that would provide matching grants of up to $5,000 to commercial property owners to “make improvements that increase accessibility in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations and the (state) Fire Prevention and Building Code.” It will come before the village board members Monday; we hope they approve it.

MOUNTAIN – We’re glad Tupper Lake town Supervisor Patti Littlefield fixed an extra charge for police in village residents’ town tax bills. In what town Councilman John Quinn called an oversight, last year when the town started paying the village $25,000 for limited police services, that money came out of the town-wide general fund instead of general outside-the-village fund, which meant village residents paid it, too, even though they’re already paying much more for police through their village taxes. Granted, this is a small amount of money now and didn’t put anyone out too badly, but it’s very good the mistake wasn’t allowed to linger.

MOUNTAIN – New Paul Smith’s College President Cathy Dove projects enthusiastic energy. She is bright, approachable and has contagious optimism that should prompt confidence in the educational institution. We think Paul Smith’s will thrive under her leadership, and we encourage people to welcome her if you see her out and about.

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